43 Responses

Yep, pit bulls need to be banned. The’re usually nice as puppies, but once they turn 3 years old they become very agressive.

I had a problem with my next door neighbor who had one. I liked the dog, but the neighbor went nuts one night during a violent domestic dispute and crashed into my truck, so I called HPD. The cop investigated and discovered the pit bull. He said that all pit bull owners in Houston are required to carry a $250,000 liability insurance policy. They didn’t have the policy and didn’t know it was the law, neither did I, so the cop called Animal Control to investigate.

I don’t know what happened to the dog, but I had the neighbor evicted. Another thing I learned when I researched this pit bull issue was that most insurance companies won’t write a policy for a pit bull that is over 3 years old. My point is that maybe we don’t need any new laws in Houston because it is already illegal to own a pit bull without insurance and it’s very difficult to get insurance even if someone can afford it.

My advice to anyone is to call the police or Animal Control if they see a pit bull. If the owner can’t provide proof of insurance he will be fined. I had the impression from the cop that the dog would be taken away, too.

Well taken comment, Nick. We have two dogs and 6 cats at home, and it offends me that owners allow their un-neutered animals to roam freely, vicious or otherwise. I fully support any rational effort to toughen our laws in this regard.

For myself at least, when I go out for a walk, I drop my compact Glock 10mm pistol in my coat pocket (along with my CHL). Any man or beast assaulting my wife or myself in a life-threatening manner will briefly regret having done so.

It’s obvious our community leadership is unable or unwilling to deal with what appears to be an increasingly dangerous aspect of daily life.As long as vicious dogs are allowed in our communities, I shall exercise my rights to carry appropriate weaponry for disabling or killing said vicious animals when they attack.I have no compunction whatsoever in pulling the trigger on something that weighs 40 plus pounds and is clearly intent on attacking me, a companion, or someone in my field of view. I would do, and have done, exactly the same with a rattlesnake. In this case, I see no difference.

I’ve never been in favor of banning any type of dog. However, I think that anyone who owns a dog with even the potential to cause serious injury is obligated to make sure that dog is never roaming free, and there should be some very stiff penalties for failure to do so, regardless of whether the dog bites anyone.

There is no excuse for two little girls being attacked by loose dogs, or a little boy getting killed, or a man in his 60′s having to choke out a dog to save his own life. If you want to own a dog, you have to accept the responsibility that goes with it. That means feeding it, cleaning up after it, taking it to the vet, and keeping it under control, ALWAYS.

Pit bulls in themselves are not the problem but owners who fail to train them properly or restrain them, as with any dog. We have had a pit bull mix for 12 years and she has never been a problem because we trained her properly and don’t let her loose. I think there’s a lot of misinformation about the breed themselves because so many idiots choose to train them to fight or own them without taking proper care of them. It would make a lot more sense to actually make owners accountable for their animals and discourage people from getting animals they won’t take proper car of.

I am a native Houstonian and a foster home for Rottweiler rescue. I have never heard of the “law” as stated by Taylor. There is a vicious dog law requiring a certain amount of insurance for a dog that bites someone and has been declared vicious. I also have a pit bull type dog living next to me. Bandit is gentle and good with children and people. He is over 10 years old and has never shown any inclination to act up with people. However, he did bit through my chain link fence and bite one of my poor old skinny rescue Rotts, for what reason I do not know. The Rott was a female who was scared of her shadow. I sprayed him with a mixture of vinegar and water (1 tsp. to one pint of water) and he let her go. Bandit never showed aggression to me, even when I broke up the fight.

As a code enforcement officer for Houston, I have had a lot of interaction with dogs on the street. I guess I was lucky to have been bitten only by the smaller breeds and those bites were only “nips”. However, I do believe firmly as do the members of Rottweiler rescue that all dogs must remain in their own yards with locked gates. We do agree on one thing and that is there must be changes in the requirements for the safe and humane conditions for pets. Our rescue Rottweilers have gone through unbelievable horrors at the hands of humans. This behavior must be stopped for all pets regardless of species or breed and it must be enforced with a vengeance to get people to obey these laws.

The problem is bad owners. Pets should be in control by their owners at all times. Animals are a lot like people – if they are not raised properly, with discipline and affection, you can expect a problem. Large dogs, by their nature, have more capability of causing serious harm or death, but allowing potentially dangerous animals to roam free, is like putting a loaded gun on the sidewalk, where kids are playing, and walking away.

My next door neighbor has 4 dogs in his backyard that bark all night, two of which are pittbulls. Theyre probably the most annoying dogs ever, almost always barking nad everything. One of them got away once and attacked a small shitzu and its owner once. The police didn’t do anything about it though. They just said to lock up your dogs better next time.

Please don’t think I’m defending a dangerous canine – especially since my dog looks almost identical to the one on the right. Sharp little teeth on the bugger but it’s like a coral snake, you really have to work at it to get bit. Oh if you have on sandals or you’re barefooted, she might take on your middle toe but I doubt it.

That said:

Since there is no breed known as “pit bull” (the name applies to and comes from, any crossbred dog used for fighting in a pit for “sport” often but not always, with a head some people think of as belonging to an English Bulldog or Rottweiler) please provide the legal description of the dog you want banned or whatever.

Will it include Rottweilers, Shakespeare and the Roman’s literal “dogs of war.”

The German Shepherd ?(Alas, poor Rin-Tin-Tin! I knew him, Nick!)

Boxers? Doberman Pinschers? English Bulldogs?

Draw up an ordnance identifying the dog to be exiled (before it harms someone) and I’ll give you a list of attorneys ready to take the case.

These comments are directed at the idiots that are singling out 1 breed (pit-bulls).

It is not the breed that is dangerous, it is the idiot owners of the said dog that make it vicious. I owned a pit bull for 15 years and she never snapped at anyone, I let her loose in the front yard, never chased anyone. If anyone came into the yard she would bark and let you know someone was around but that would pretty much be it. That is the same with any dog, it is how you raise them. You raise them to be killers, they will do what they are trained to do. I could say the same for these piece of crap terrorists. They are brainwashed from when they are children that killing people and dying in the name of “their god” is the righteous thing to do.

WAKE UP PEOPLE…not all pit-bulls are going to be vicious and kill people, but yes it is sad that if you train them to kill and be vicious and mean then that is what they are going to do. But dont go around pigeon hole-ing a great breed of dog that can be good around children and other people.

The problem is bad owners. Pets should be in control by their owners at all times. Animals are a lot like people – if they are not raised properly, with discipline and affection, you can expect a problem. Large dogs, by their nature, have more capability of causing serious harm or death, but allowing potentially dangerous animals to roam free, is like putting a loaded gun on the sidewalk, where kids are playing, and walking away.

Posted by: JC at February 24, 2007 06:05 PM

I agree with your thoughts 100%. I had the loaded gun example in my own mind as I read down the chain of posts. I think it is perfect.

Wow all this makes me miss my rottweiler. He was such a great dog. Good with kids, great watchdog. But like the majority here it was definitely a responsibility to keep a watch on him at all times. He didn’t get along well with strangers, but he was very good natured. People who have no control of the animals they care for, or train them for incorrect purposes should get penalized to the fullest extent of the law. Boo to those who allow the pets they own to hurt other individuals…

The problem is not the dog but the owners. Any dog socialized properly rarely attack other dogs or people. Though, we have to remember that dogs are still animals and animals still have instinct. Animals will bite if provoked or if their instint kicks in. Owners need to better train their dogs and socialize them properly to avoid any problems.

I LOVE Rotts. They are the coolest dogs. Very protective of their owners and children. I’ve bonded with a couple. That’s a perfect case of good owner means good dog. I miss them. They were very popular with kids and adults.

For MARI, I’m not saying what the Houston cop told us was correct, but he did call animal control. I don’t know what the law is about carrying insurance on a vicious dog. Wouldn’t be the first time HPD made a mistake.

Like I said, that was the first time I ever heard of this law. The cop did put it into his report.

It’s not just the owners. I don’t trust my kids to some white-trash pit bull owner who wants a big dog so he can look tough, but fails to keep it fenced. The breed is known for being dangerous, but the cognitive dissonance of the “good owners” is amazing. At our property there are very few animals that I will shoot on sight. A pit is one of them. Wish I could do the same in the city limits.

If I had the choice of befriending a barking human being or a barking dog; I would choose the dog. At least they can be reindoctrinated but a vicious barking human is beyond hope short of lobotomy. Or be put in a cage with five shackles and a muzzle.

Humans that behave like dogs and want to harm others thru the use of vicious dogs as the vehicles and extensions of their subconcious to really want to do harm to others, well they should be charged as if using a gun or other weapons. “Well my dog did it, so don’t blame me.”

As long as there is evil in this world, humans such as these will conive and lay blame on an easily manipulated animal.

Lastly, dogs are descendents of the wolf and have a particular instinct of scenting out a certain scent that weak young game have after being born or after. It is their easiest form of kill for better nutrition.

Young toddlers, little children have this certain scent, so keep them dogs away from them, this is what triggers their sudden attacks on them.

There are dogs in our neighborhood that are allowed off leash. The owners have no control over them. The last time they were out in the front yard, the standard Poodle started chasing and barking at a jogger. You can bet that if that had been a “pit bull” type dog, the police would have been called.

Owners who allow their dogs to roam free should be severely penalized, but why single out only a few, when most dogs have the ability to bite.

I was unfamiliar with the bully breed before I rescued two. They are both great companions and get along with my cats, even going so far as to sleep along side them. They both have been neutered and attended obedience classes.

Why not ban cigarettes, automobiles, guns, liquor, to name a few, for they surely kill more people than any breed of dog ever will. But that would break into the profits of some big corporations. No let’s go for the responsible pet owners and penalize them.

Last year bit bulls in Denver, Colorado who had never harmed anyone were taken from their owners and killed only because of the way they looked. In other cities owners are given only 60 days to turn in their pets or suffer the consequences.

Wake up, the next thing they may want to ban may be something you hold dear.

The hysteria continues, now with editorial cartoons. At various times the Chronicle incites fear with bats, illegal immigrants, terrorists, you name it. Now it’s pit bulls.

No one is making light of dog bites, but this issue is being horribly overhyped. Every year, in the entire U.S., about 10-12 people are killed by dogs, and about 3 are by pit bulls [and that's debatable because pits are so often misidentified--in the Pedro Rios case they initially blamed two pit bulls and later the vet authorities determined the dogs were not pits]. More people die from snake bites, parachute accidents, etc. And of course many many more–thousands and thousands more–die in car crashes or from guns. Mr. Anderson, are you going to do a cartoon calling for a ban on guns?

There are lots of laws on the books that are not being enforced, and should be. Careless owners need to be penalized, but banning dogs by breeds just won’t help anything and will punish good owners. Do you want the animal control officers stealing the family pet away? Maybe you could do a cartoon about that?

Taylor, your post is filled with misinformation. There is no law requiring that pitbull owners be required to take out an insurance policy and pitbulls do not “become” aggressive at age 3.

I have owned pitbulls all of my life. I do not train them to attack other dogs and certainly not other people. I have 4 dogs currently. 3 are pitbulls and 1 is a chihuaha. Can you guess which dog greets the mailman at the door each day?

I presently own 3 dogs. I see that my dogs do not leave my yard. I also chose smaller breeds known for their friendliness rather than their aggressiveness. I reached the decision to own these types of dogs rather than larger more aggressive dogs after watching the neighbors dog attack my daughter (it was half rhodesian ridgeback, a dog bred to hunt lions)in our yard and cause my daughter to need 30 staples in her head. After the initial wanting to kill response, I felt sorry for my neighbors who had a fenced yard, and their dog that they had no idea was aggressive, and accidentally got out of the yard chewed up a little girl. After this experience, I decided that i was not willing to take resposibility for what a known aggresive animal is capable of doing. If you are, More power to you. Just kindly keep your problem in your own yard. I feel that people who purchase a known aggressive breed of dog, and let it get out of their yard at all, need to go to jail for a week or 2. If that animal actually causes harm, they need to go to prison for a long time. I think a pitt bull or a rott. etc, is like a good gun. If you want to own one, that is great. I own lots of guns. I also keep my guns locked up in a gun vault out of reach of my children, or anybody else. These animals that are bred to be weapons, need to be treated with the respect that we treat the rest of our weapons. If you are not willing to take on this resposibility, then you should not own a dangerous animal. I am not willing to take own this resposibility so therefore, I do not own a pit bull.

Further more, my family breeds and sells shelties. These animals are bred to herd. If you drop a sheltie that has never seen a goat in it’s life in with goats, it will herd them and tend to them, they have been bred to do this for hundreds of years, it is their nature, they cannot help it. I have witnessed it in my own yard. If you think that just because you treat a pit bull like a poodle, that you are going to get a poodle, you are sadly mistaken. You still have a pit bull, all that is needed, is the right set of circumstances, and someone will be hurt, or dead. It is their nature, they cannot help it, it is what they have been bred to do, if they do anything else, it is due to bad breeding or fluke of nature. Thanks for listening to my rant.

There are several laws that can be enforced on your neighbor. First, this person has too many dogs, unless he/she has a kennel permit. Three dogs are allowed inside the City of Houston limits. Second, there is a noise ordinance that can be enforced on barking dogs. Forth, the police should have transferred the complaint about a loose dog, if they could not have notified the owner themselves, to the animal control officers. Police officers are like all City employees, they have supervisors. If a City employee will not help you, always request to talk to a supervisor. Fifth, there is a Texas State law that forbids breed specific laws. Sixth, learn all you can about breeds of dogs, as there are a lot of dogs that look like “pit bulls”, but are not the same breeds that were once trained to fight in pits. Seventh, learn to write letters to your Council Members, State Legislators, etc. because a lot of people do not write them. They consider your letters to be representative of their area. Eighth, dogs are like people, when you treat them like a member of the family (dogs live in packs in the wild–their family) and pay attention to them, educate them, keep them safe in your yard and house,etc. they do not misbehave or bark constantly. IN SHORT, GO FOR IT.

Why is it again they often seem to turn on the owners’ children and neighbors?

The only reason anyone gets a dog like that is to mkake themselves look tough. Why else would you POSSIBLY consider such an animal??? Seriously? What is the draw except to bolster a person’s own weak self-image?

While we’re on the ban specific types of things bandwagon, let’s ban large trucks and SUVs, and require that all cars on the road be of similar size and weight.

Posted by: starkeshia at February 25, 2007 03:38 PM

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Done! I see no reason other than hubris and materialistic gluttony for most people owning an SUV or other large vehicle. The auto industry has many compact cars that comfortably carry people, which is the main job most vehicles on the road are used for. Sadly, such limitations on owning unneccessarily large vehicles will not come to pass. For those who would argue against this idea, I say yes, we would have to have provisions for larger families to own larger vehicles, for larger people with mobility problems to own vehicles easier to get into and out of, etc., etc…, the rules would have to have exceptions and options. I have owned a compact Toyota, and at 6’1″ and 195 lbs, I was quite comfortable in it, and loved it’s 30 mph gas mileage.

Dogs are bred and trained to be vicious. They are kept for the protection of homeowners against criminals who might otherwise do bodily harm. With the escalation of crime in this city, we cannot afford to ban dogs because they’re vicious. For many, a dog is the only line of defense against thugs, robbers and rapists. The real issue is that dogs run loose and bite someone because a lot of homeowners are too lazy to care about their neighborhood by calling animal control when they see a loose dog. I’ve seen people drive by stray animals in the neighborhood, not even bothering to try to get the animal back to the owner. The two girls who were badly maimed by pitbulls could have been spared the ordeal if just one passerby in their automobiles wasn’t too lazy to call animal control. That is sad. If homeowners continue to be lazy in the affairs of their neighborhood, no amount of legislation will make our neibhorhood as safe as we like.

I see no reason other than hubris and materialistic gluttony for most people owning an SUV or other large vehicle.

Posted by: Joseph at February 26, 2007 01:58 PM

Joseph, when I go to the rifle range on the weekend, I usually take 3-4 rifles and 2-5 of my 45s or Glocks, etc. Additionally, I take perhaps 2,000 rds of ammunition of various calibers, spotting scope, duffel bag with targets, hearing protectors, gloves, etc.

This pretty well fills up the back of my Escalade. Now I realize that if I took only one or two guns I could perhaps drive a Corolla, but the experience would be so less satisfying.

What was that you said about “materialistic gluttony”…?

I am curious why people who propose to ban things always manage to draw the line so that what they are doing is OK. The guy with an Echo may feel that a Corolla is a gas guzzler.

“Joseph, when I go to the rifle range on the weekend, I usually take 3-4 rifles and 2-5 of my 45s or Glocks, etc. Additionally, I take perhaps 2,000 rds of ammunition of various calibers, spotting scope, duffel bag with targets, hearing protectors, gloves, etc.

This pretty well fills up the back of my Escalade.” “materialistic gluttony”…?”

Dam, big bad JohnG, with all that gear, you are all set up for a nice weekend in downtown Iraq and get to cruise in yer “pimped out” Escalade Caddy. And take a few of those pit bulls with you and let ‘em loose in al-Sadr City.

I’m sure geeeedubya can get a C-117 to transport all yer gear there. Combat, finally!

Yes…exactly, because all of the above have been intensively bred for several centuries to not be aggressive towards humans. WHOOPS! No, they haven’t…all of the above are wild animals.

Pit Bulls, HAVE been bred ever since the 1500s to NOT be aggressive towards humans. Any dog that showed human aggression was removed from the gene pool. Why is that, you ask? Well…in the early days spectators would stand around the dogs as they went after bulls/bears (Google “bear baiting”). You couldn’t have a dog in the throes of battle, full of adrenaline, make a mistake and go after a spectator. Same is true of game dogs in more modern times…you’ve got a bunch of spectators watching a fight…can’t have a dog go nuts and start eating people.

DO-NOT-EAT-PEOPLE is a fundamental message encoded in the very genetic makeup of a pit bull. It takes lots of mistreatment, be it through upbringing or poor breeding practices, to overcome that.

My brother had an incident with his neighbor’s 2 Pit Bulls. They tore up his fence, and got into his backyard. Fortunately, he was the only one home at the time. Unfortunately, his 2 Boxers, who are the most kind hearted dogs anyone can ever have, where outside for their playtime. He said that he heard barking, growling and scuffling. When he ran outside, he saw the 2 pit bulls attacking his dogs. He immediately grabbed the nearest tool, which was a “pick”. He used the broad side of the pick and began striking the nearest pit first. After numerous blows he was able to knock the dog into his pool. He went over to assist the his other dog. He began striking the 2nd pit bull to release it’s grip on his other boxer. Finally, after numerous blows to the HEAD, that pit released and ran back into it’s yard. Then came the first pit that fell into the pool. He went after my brother, and he used the pick and drove it into that pit’s skull. This did NOT stop the dog and my brother was in a “tug of war” with pit while he held onto the pick. Finally that pit ran off into it’s yard. My brother notified authorities and they came with animal control. They fined his neighbor and took those dogs away. my brother had to take his dogs to the vet for the injuries they sustained. The total bill was over $1200. Now, he is in the process of going to court for all damages that he had to pay for and to fix the fence.

Moral of the story: if you have one fo these dogs, they are not worth the RISK of what they can do. Both dogs were struck at least 20-25 times with the broad side of a ax pick, AND one had the sharp point lodged into his head. It still did not stop it. I asked my brother why didn’t he shoot, since he owns a firearm, for he is a police officer. For him to use his weapon would of caused a huge internal investigations, and he did not want to deal with the headache. Pit bulls ARE beautiful animals, but they are not worth the RISK if one were to get out of control. Thanks for reading.

The problem with this “debate” is that it’s based on emotional anecdotes, but the media is only showing one side of the story about pit bulls. Yes, there are pit bull attacks–and those are overwhelimingly caused by stray dogs, or dogs that have been mistreated or trained to be mean.

There’s a diffrerence between breeding and training, and some irresponsible owners mistreat their dogs or train them to be aggressive. There is NO PROOF, none, that Pit Bulls are just naturall aggressive.

In fact, in various temperament tests given by dog experts, pits are among the highest scorers. Many other types of dogs bite more often too. But Pits get the horrible press. No one would suggest that any kind of dog attack is okay, and the state has laws to take care of that, and needs to enforce them. But to ban dogs is outrageous. This is Texas–will they ban guns and cars and cigarettes next?

There are 70 million dogs in the U.S. and probably several million pit bulls. Every year there are about a dozen fatal attacks, and 3 are blamed on pit bulls (which are almost impossible to identify anyway–see the test at http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html).

So you’re going to take people’s dogs away because 3 out of several million (let’s say hundreds out of several million, to account for biting incidents) cause harm? In fact, a much more important indicator in dog attacks is whether the dog, of any breed, has been neutered or spayed. Almost all dog attacks come from intact dogs. It would make much more sense to make owners fix their dogs. Banning breeds is just wrong, and it would violate state law, and it would amount to the government taking people’s property away. I can’t imagine anyone wants that.

Enforce the existing laws, make people keep their dogs leashed, and get them spayed and neutered.

Besides, do you think that irresponsible dog owners, breeders, and pit bull fighters are going to obey a law? You’d only be affecting the honest dog owners.

This is a crazy proposal, and Judge Eckels and the Task Force said so. Why is Senator Ellis rejecting their decision? What happened to democracy and property rights?

…you are all set up for a nice weekend in downtown Iraq and get to cruise in yer “pimped out” Escalade Caddy…Combat, finally!

Posted by: JF at February 26, 2007 04:59 PM

No 24″ spinners for me…pure stock (I know – how boring).

Those of you who have been there know that this thought is foolish, but offered the opportunity to go after the 7 folks who fired the missile that took out my sister, I just might accept the offer. I do have the appropriate hardware and the will, but by all accounts, if my mission were successful, I would come back worse for the experience.